|
May Day was
celebrated in nearly all the working class slums and industrial belts of Delhi.
Here we shall recount May Day functions in just 3 areas to give a picture of the
working-class’s rising consciousness.
1. Okhla
Okhla is a big
industrial belt having workers from all over the country. Here there are various
types of workers —those on fixed pay, contract labourers and vast numbers of
daily wage workers. The bulk of the workers are employed in the leather and
garment industries. Most of these workers are muslims.
The May Day programme
was organised in the area jointly by four Organisations — Leather Garment
Mazdoor Union, Progressive Mazdoor Trade Union, Nepali Mazdoor Ekta Sangh and
the Jan Pratirodh Sangh. It began with a lengthy rally through the lanes of
Okhla culminating in a public meeting. At the begining there were 300 workers,
but as the rally wound its way through the by-lanes of Okhla, it increased to
650.
Most of the speeches
presented by the leaders of these worker’s organisations attacked the New
Economic Policies, and the new Trade Union Acts and their disastrous impact on
workers. With the new policies, they explained, that not only would the hours of
work increase beyond eight, but women would be forced to work at nights.
The speakers also
spoke against the pogroms in Gujarat by the Hindu Fascists against muslims and
appealed for unity of the oppressed masses from all religions against the
fascists.
The speaker from the
Nepal organisation spoke of the growing peoples movement in Nepal and the
Nepales government’s repression on it. He called on all worker’s to support the
growing movement in Nepal, condemn the Nepalese government and oppose the danger
of US and Indian intervention in the Nepali conflict.
2. Shahdara
Here too various
worker’s organisation jointly gave a call for a May Day rally. From three days
earlier handbills were distributed in the entire area. On May Day, from early
morning itself workers began gathering outside factory gates appealing to
workers to close the factories and join the rally. They also did a dharna
(protest) before factory gates demanding a holiday. After some time workers from
some industrial units joined the rally, as did students from Delhi University.
The rally wound its way around the entire industrial belt of Shahdara ending in
a public meeting. Women and children also participated in the rally.
The public meeting
began with a cultural programme where the songs and street play depicted the
struggle of the workers and exposed, the revisionist leatership who betrayed
these strugges. After this speeches were presented by workers and students.
The workers recounted
the history of May Day, the growing attacks on the rights of workers by the
fascistic NDA government, the impact of the policies of economic reforms, the
attacks on muslims in Gujarat by Hindu fascist goons, a condemnation of the
draconian POTA, etc.
After this students
from Delhi attacked the privatisation of education policy of the government,
which resulted on large sections of the working and middle classes being unable
to go for proper education. They also attacked the growing unemployment of
educated youth due to the imperialist-dictated economic policies of the
government.
The meeting finally
ended with a cultural programms.
3. Noida
In Noida two meetings were held
attended by about 150 workers each. Most of these workers were from engineering
plants in the Export Processing Zone. Here the speakers focused on the cruel
exploitation of workers in
these zones and called on them to intensify their struggle. They also explained
the significance and significane of May Day.
|
